Girl Up

ONE IS TOO MANY

1 in 3 Women

That’s how many girls and women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. That number should be zero. Gender-based violence, rooted in gender norms and unequal power relationships, undermines the health, dignity, security, and autonomy of the millions of individuals who experience it. It is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world and it knows no social, economic, or national boundaries.

1. 12 Million

   girls worldwide are subjected to child marriage annually

2. 1 in 4

   women between 15-24 who have been in a relationship will have experienced GBV by their mid-twenties

3. 200 Million

   girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation

We Can Stop It Together

From connecting individuals to resources and creating safe spaces for girls to implementing awareness-raising campaigns online and in their communities, Girl Up Clubs are on a mission to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV) around the world.

Girl Up’s curriculum, Let’s Talk About Gender-based Violence: Building Awareness and Solidarity, aims to raise awareness about GBV and encourage youth to take collective action to combat GBV in their communities around the world. The peer-facilitated curriculum contains three parts, covering a range of topics so that participants will be able to:

• Establish a shared understanding of concepts and terms related to GBV
• Understand the prevalence and scope of the problem
• Investigate where and how GBV causes harm, including mechanisms that perpetuate the problem
• Explore approaches to mitigating risks and making informed decisions
• Take action to raise awareness, demand accountability, and improve conditions to eliminate GBV

1. 

   Unit 1: Facts, Figures and Experiences

   Identifying forms of GBV; Distinguishing between Sex & Gender

2. 

   Unit 2: Toward Living a Life Free of Violence

   Discussing GBV through an intersectional lens; Establishing safe spaces & personal boundaries

3. 

   Unit 3: Putting Resistance into Practice

   Mapping the system that perpetuates GBV; Being a Leader of Change to combat GBV

Many individuals have contributed to this work. Girl Up and the main authors of this curriculum wish to thank everyone who made this curriculum possible with their contributions, time, and support.

Thank you to all the girls and adolescents from Guatemala and around the world who participated in our Focus Groups. Thank you to the team of contributors who include María José Aldana, Gabriela Miranda, Paula Orellana, and Cecilia Pérez. Thanks also to the following individuals and organizations for their input: María Lucía Aldana, María José Aguilar Ponce, Andrea Aguilar, Adriana Gómez, Ana Bermúdez Fong, Liliana Zaragoza Cano, Libertad Sagüín, Vida Independiente, Fundación Centro Bartolomé de las Casas, AzMina, Girls Health Ed, Feminist Voice, Peace Foundation, Population Council, Sayfty, and UNFPA.

We would also like to thank Advocates for Youth, the creators of Rights, Respect, Responsibility and Population Council, which developed It’s All One Curriculum: Guidelines and Activities for a Unified Approach to Sexuality, Gender, HIV, and Human Rights Education for developing engaging curricula and resources, parts of which we have adapted for use in this peer-led curriculum.

Powered by a strategic partnership with Anu Jain

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what’s at stake?

Gender-based violence denies the human dignity of girls and women.

Gender-based violence affects girls and women in every community, in every corner of the world, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. As advocates for the rights, skills, and opportunities of every girl, everywhere, Girl Up leaders are developing girl-led solutions to combat gender-based violence in their own lives and communities– from addressing campus sexual assault through advocacy and the creation of safe spaces, to developing tech solutions that build community awareness – but there is still so much more to do. Victims of gender-based violence can suffer immediate and long-term physical and emotional consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and even death.

I think that it’s extremely important for us to take action around GBV since it affects so many women on a daily [basis]—no matter their background. There are serious mental, emotional, physical repercussions, and the only way we can stop it is to advocate.

Angela, Girl Up leader

RESOURCES

1. Facts & Figures

   UN Women

2. Organization List

   The Pixel Project

3. Global Helplines

   UN Women